The Makings of a Hero
by William Logan
Summary: Sequel to "Perhaps Someday," Rogue goes off to Lookout Point to have some time to think, only fall victim to an ambush (Co-Starring Gambit, please R&R)


Disclaimer: X-Men: Evolution and all related names are the property of Marvel Entertainment, Inc.  
  
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"The Makings of a Hero"  
By William Logan  
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Rogue left the Institute one evening, heading out for a walk to stretch her legs and get a breath of fresh air. The smell of construction had been starting to get to her, and she longed for clean air that wouldn't choke her lungs up with dust. The sun had just set, leaving the sky a murky deep purple , the last rays of light playing on the clouds, giving them a dark pink color. In the east, stars were just beginning to appear, it was the perfect night to head up to Lookout Point, so that is exactly where she went. It was an uneventful walk, although Rogue would have given anything to become invisible at several points when the stares from the citizens of Bayville became too great for her. The sense of aloneness at Lookout Point was quite welcome, Rogue thought as the wind blew through her shoulder-length light brown hair. She lightly fingered at the silver strands of her hair, wondering if she'd attract less attention if she simply dyed it to match the rest. No, that would be hiding who she was, and Rogue was proud of who she was, even if it meant getting stared at like some sort of sideshow freak. That's all we are to them, anyhow, she thought bitterly, remembering her former Brotherhood teammate Blob, who had toured with the circus and various monster truck shows before being discovered by Mystique, who had invited him to come to Bayville and become a member of the Brotherhood. It had been much more direct than the approach Mystique had taken with her... the deception, the lies... Rogue frowned and let out a soft sigh, hugging herself as a chill seemed to work its way into the wind, biting at her pale skin. She watched the lights down below her, thinking about all the people going about their business, not having a care in the world.  
  
"What I wouldn't give to be normal," she sighed softly, speaking to the wind.  
  
"Well, that isn't gonna happen, you mutie freak," said a voice from behind her. She turned to see the same bully that had been harassing Spyke the other day, and standing behind him were five other thugs. Three of them carried aluminum baseball bats.  
  
"Can't y'all just leave a girl at peace for a minute?" Rogue said as they approached her. She glanced over the railing, the cliff was too steep for her to try to escape that way. She pulled off her gloves and moved into a defensive posture that Logan had taught her.  
  
"Not after you made a fool out of us the other day! You're going to pay for that. And this time, that red-eyed freak isn't going to save you!" One of them charged at her, swinging his bat at her head, she swiftly ducked and brought her foot up to connect with the thug's knee, sending him to the ground.  
  
"Au contraire," a voice said from somewhere out of view. Suddenly, a figure dropped from one of the trees beside Rogue, dressed in a trenchcoat and holding a staff in one hand and three cards, all of them glowing bright orange, in the other, "da red-eyed freak is here t'save da day." He threw the cards at the feet of the leader of the group, who recognized the orange glow of the cards from his meeting with Gambit the day before. He jumped out of the way just as the cards exploded, showering sparks and chunks of dirt all around.  
  
"I can take him!" One of the punks said, rushing at him with his bat, taking a low swing, aiming to knock Gambit off of his feet. The Cajun easily jumped over it, bringing his staff around to smash into the teenage thug's skull, knocking him unconscious.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" Rogue cried at Gambit, fending off a thug of her own, finally getting close enough to touch his cheek with her bare hand. The bully hit the ground with a dull thud.  
  
"T'ought jou might need a li'l help," he said with a charming grin as he pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket, "okay, boys, da game is five card draw, deuces wild," he charged up several cards and began throwing them at the boys, scaring them enough to cause them to run off, leaving Rogue and Gambit alone with the unconscious bodies of two of the thugs. "Aw... dealer wins... not jour day!"  
  
"I coulda taken 'em myself, you know," Rogue huffed, pulling her gloves back on.  
  
"Oui, but dat wouldn' have been quite as much fun, now would it have, chere?" Gambit beamed, shuffling his cards skillfully and putting them back in his trenchcoat pocket, "are jou okay?" He looked at her with some concern, a small smile crossing his face as he studied her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Now leave me alone, wouldja? I came up here t'be by myself, but it sure doesn't seem like it's gonna happen." She eyed the stranger, blushing slightly when she noticed that he was looking at her eyes. He was handsome, she would give him that, but that's about all, "so, what, did Magneto send you here to try to recruit me? Save a Southern girl's life, win her loyalty, is that the game he's tryin' t'play?"  
  
"Actually, he don' know I'm here. I followed jou up here on my own interests," he grinned. She felt a shiver run down her spine as he did so. He was handsome and charming, she would give him that, but nothing more. "Thought jou might end up gettin' lonely."  
  
"Well, it seemed that those yahoos made sure I had some company, now didn't it?"  
  
"Not da kinda company I t'ought you'd need," he brought a gloved finger up to touch her chin and winked. The guy was handsome, charming, and was starting to make the young mutant girl tremble, that's all she'd give him credit it for.  
  
"What, you think you can just waltz in here, save my life, flash a few grins, and I'd be all yours? You are a pig!" She huffed, backing away from his touch. That's all he was, a pig, one of Magneto's goons. But he was handsome, charming, and made her tremble...  
  
"Been called worse," he said with a soft chuckle, "fine, I'll leave jou alone, if dat's what jou really want."  
  
"I'm sure Magneto's waiting for his lackey to return to him," Rogue replied, her eyes daring to glance up again. He was still studying her face. She felt her face grow warm as the blood rushed up to cause her to blush. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it would leap right out of her chest and into the palm of the Cajun's hand. That's where it was, anyhow.  
  
"Maggie can wait, chere, but jou are quite right," he replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card, the ace of hearts, "here, keep dis... t'remember me by," he winked, placing it in her hand.  
  
"This one isn't gonna explode on me, is it?" She asked skeptically, holding the card away from her body for fear of a bio-kinetic blast.  
  
"Nah, don' wanna mess up dat pretty face of yours," Rogue's blush extended to her ears, she felt like she was going to explode. "I'm sure I'll see jou again in da near future," he blew her a kiss and started moving off into the shadows, "au revoir, mon chere." He then broke into a run and headed off into the forest. Rogue absent-mindedly flipped the card in her fingers and smiled, thinking to herself that the charming Cajun might just have some good in him, after all.  
  
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FIN  
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End file.
